Cushion-tire.



A. M. SMITH. CUSHION TIRE. APPLICATION FILED JUL-127.1912.

' Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 A. My SMITH.

OUSEIQN TIRE. APPLICATION HLEJYJULY 27, 1912.

Patented Jan 21', 1913 2 BHEETFSAHEET 2.

ings, in which ill ill

FIG.

ANDREW MINEIREE SMITH, OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.

CUSHION -TIEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 27, 1912.

Patented Jan. 21. 1913 Serial No 211,865.

To all whom 1' t may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW Mmn'rmin SMITH, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of l 'etersburg, county of 'Dinividdie, State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Cushion-Tires, of which the following is a full and clear specification, reference being" had to the accompanying draw- Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of a wheel rim provided with my tire; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of a part of the tire; Fig. 3 is a transverse section thereot'; Figs. 4k and 5 are detail views oi one of the segments; Fig. 6 is a lOIIQ'l UCllIlZIl section showing a slightly-modified form; and, Fig. '1' is a bottom View of one of the segments employed in this modified form.

in A. invention has relation to that class of resilient tires having the qualities of a pneuiatic tire Without the disadvantages thereof and constructed of resilient segments separably interlocked with each other so as to be capable of independent insertion and re moval.

The object of the prewnt invention is to avoid the damages and delays of punctures and blow-outs by providing a double aircushion whereby When the main cushion is overcome by impact or weight the auxiliary cushion comes into action so that under all circumstances there Will be one or more cushions in action, thereby contributing to the safety of life and property.

In the drawings, a designates a rim of any suitable construction and I) designates the segments of the tire attached thereto, each segment be ng provided with outwardly projecting beads or flanges at its inner corners, which beads or flanges fit under the inwardlytmned curved or rolled edges rl of the tire rim or shoe. Each segment provided with resilient Walls c and with a thickened tread wall f through which. extends a passage g. The thickened part, of the tread wall bulges inwardly and is iuteorally connected by a column or post /L to the bottom wall or foot 11 ot' the segment. The column or post it is -preicrablv hollow to increase the strength and r siliency ol' the segment, and in order that the pressure on the tread of the tire shall assist in securely interlocking the segment with the curved llangres I] the bottom wall is slightly bout or arched upwart ly at its center so that tho pressure will be transmitted through the column /z to the upper side of the arch and thus exert an outward pressure on the feet of the segment and force the beads or flanges in under the hooks (Z. It will be observed that when these segments are placed side by side on the rim with their adjacent faces closely abutting, the holes r will form a continuous space around the tire near the tread portion thereof. This continuous space will form an auxiliary cushion in that it will not be brought into complete action until the Walls 6 of the main cushion are collapsed by reason of some exceptional jar or impact. It. will be observed also that the outer walls c and the bottom Wall 2' and the wall of the thickened portion of the tread form a comparatively large annular space, which space and walls form the main cushion of the tire which is in action alone eX- cept in the special case above noted, namely where the jar or impact is sufiiciently great to collapse the side walls and the central series of supporting columns and thus bring into action the supplemental cushion. It will be observed that the columns h are narrower than the Widths of the segments so that they do not serve to divide up the main cushion air-space but permit a free circulation of air all around them. Itis not intended that the joints between the segments shall be air-light; on the contrary it is intended that air shall circulate at atm0spheric pressure throughout all the spaces of the tire, it. being the object of the present invention to avoid the necessity of using an inner tube and to rely wholly on the resilicncy ot' the material disposed in the manner shown and described. Di? course the joints are sullicienl'ly tight to exclude dirt and mud and ater.

it is desirable that some means shall be provided for alining the segments and holding them in aliucmcut during severe action. I prefer doing this by providing each slagment at one end with a annular beveled flange j and at its opposite edge with a similarly shaped recess so that when the segmonts are put together the flange on one segment will. enter the recess formed on the adjacent segment. The flanges j surround the openings in the segments. [is an addilional means for this purpose, l. may provide each of the segments with pins 7.: on one face and with correspondiuu r cesses in its opposite face, as shown in Figs. 1 and and as material and having two annular air shown in Fig. 6 I may provide the side edges of the feet of the segments with convexed faces is which shall fit into similarly shaped concavities in the adjacent segment. As shown in Fig. 6, I may dish the bottom wall of each segment so that there will be formed around the rim a series of pockets Z instead of an annular space we shown in the other figures. In each case the pressure of the column 176 on the bottom wall of each segment will (in the manner herein set forth) cause an interlocking action between the outer edges of the segments and the curved in edges of the shoe or rim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A vehicle tire constructed of resilient spaces one nearer the rim than the other and normally separated from each other by independently yieldable walls, constructed of transverse abutting sections independently removable, the adjacent faces of these abutting sections being provided with interlocking projections and recesses,

said tire being each section being provided with a resilient upwardly curved bottom wall and a resilient portion connecting the center of this bottom wall to the wall below the annular air space nearest the tread portion of the tire, and a tire rim for holding said sections in abutting relation.

2. A vehicle tire constructed of resilient material and having two annular air spaces one nearer the rim than the other and normally separated from each other by independently yieldable walls, said tire being constructed of transverse abutting sections independently removable, the adjacent faces of these abutting sections being provided with interlocking projections and recesses, one of the projections surrounding the outer annular air space and the other projections being located at either side thereof, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflii: my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ANDREW MINETREE SMITH.

Witnesses ROBERT G. Bass, RIoHAnn H, MANN. 

